STORM BREWS FOR POLITICIANS AS UNPAID PLACEMENTS WITHIN HOME OFFICE AND NHS ARE REVEALED
BBC Radio 5 Live is set to expose the scandalous spread of unpaid internships from the private sector into the public sector.
THIS Sunday (10th October) at 9pm, 5 Live Investigates will ask universities minister David Willetts whether the government is guilty breaking the law by exploiting young, unpaid workers – and taking advantage of young people’s desperation to gain experience.
The show’s producers contacted Graduate Fog a few months ago asking for my help amassing details about the true reach of this corrosive practice.
(Of course, I was very happy to help!)
The team admitted they were shocked at the number of placements they discovered – many of which were advertised openly on websites including w4mp
My spy at Radio 5 Live promises an explosive show on Sunday, telling me:
“We’ve found dozens of unpaid jobs in the public sector – within local government, government departments and the health service.
“They include admin and research work in primary care trusts, visa application processing in the Home Office and a huge range of jobs in local councils.
“We will be revealing how the culture of unpaid work is creeping from media, fashion and private companies into vital public services in the face of government cutbacks.”
It is clear that these roles are not just work shadowing (or tea making) – and many placements last for months.
One Home Office internship advertises an ‘exciting opportunity to gain experience in an office based administration role’. The successful candidate will help process student visa applications and as the ad says will have ‘an increased level of responsibility’ and ‘be measured against quality targets’.
The show’s presenter, journalist Adrian Goldberg, will also speak to a graduate who worked as an unpaid intern for five months in an admin role for a Primary Care Trust. During her time there, she was even asked to help train managers to do staff appraisals.
Later, Goldberg will present universities minister David Willetts with this evidence – and demand a response to this scandal.
This promises to be one hell of a show…
*Have you done a public sector internship?
What was your experience – and will you be listening to this programme on Sunday?
I have increasingly getting frustrated by the rise of these unpaid internships. I was an intern for a charity which I had no problem with as it was a small non-profit charity that makes a huge impact with little resources. What frustrates me is the fact that it seems than rather advertise for entry level positions private (and now seemingly public) companies are replacing them with unpaid internships. For instance, I had a phone call from someone I know who is in HR saying that they had a really good opportunity for me. She described the job which seemed to fit all my skills, experience and interests. She then added it was unpaid because although they needed someone for the role they didnt have it in the budget.
I have no problem with work experience and I think young people should be encouraged to get the experience whilst studying. However, these days internships are being used to do work that needs to be done rather than the development of a possible future employee.
The fact that companies openly advertise these internships is staggering. Add to that the fact it is near impossible to report these companies to any authority is a disgrace.
@Daniel
I think you’re right in suggesting that unpaid internships are now replacing paid entry-level positions. Unfortunately, there are no stats to back this up – because how on earth would you hope to measure that? Employers are hardly going to admit to it! Then again, if we accept that unpaid interning is relatively new in most industries (which it is), it leaves us with the question “Who was doing all this work before these companies started using unpaid interns?” Answer: a paid, full-time, junior member of staff.
If all my anecdotal evidence is reflective of what’s happening on a national scale, it’s a myth that unpaid internships lead to paid jobs. In fact, the opposite is true – unpaid internships are actually replacing paid jobs.
I agree. Have you ever tried to report an internship, or have you just read about my ongoing nightmare??